Very shallow earth, what to plant?

18 years ago

My quarter acre, steeply graded woodland is covered with about 2-3 inches of forest duff, all those leaves, etc. that fall each year, which I leave to rot and become, hopefully, yummy humus. But under that is usually only about 3-4 inches of humus, then the solid rock of Mt. Carmel, both basalt and chalk. There is one huge, somewhat rotted carob, which I am trying to save by cutting off the rotted parts, one wild bay leaf, and various nasty, evil vines and shrubs that I am battling, plus some unidentified trees that seem very happy and shade everything. I would love to plant anything with flowers and scents and lovliness, but I can't plant anything that needs more than those few inches of ground, as I can't dig holes in rocks. We never frost, get driving rains from now until March, then 8 months of Middle East dry summer. Any suggestions? Thanks Batya

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Comments (4)

karinl
18 years ago
There was a thread on this forum some weeks ago that would give you some names of plants to try. Maybe you could google your way through that thread, looking to see which are most adaptable to chalk - assume from this your soil is not acidic?

I don't think you'll get much in the way of flowers, scents, and other typical "garden" look, but you can get greenery, weed suppression, erosion control, and some flowers!

Here is a link that might be useful: Evaluating shade groundcovers
enchantedplace
18 years ago
I have just read the previously recommended thread. Plants vary in different climates. In our woodland it is the shallow rooted drought tolerant plants that have been enduring. When we moved here in 1986 the wooded area of our property had become a jungle. We cleared paths and vines and left most of it untouched. We had some beautiful 'surprises' of already well established plants. These are seasonal, mostly blooming in spring. The predominant ground cover plants are wood anemones, wild phlox, periwinkle, and spiderwort. Ground ivy is also a predominant ground cover but can become very invasive. However, it is not unattractive and the early blossoms provide nectar for insects. Spiderwort is growing directly out of cracks in red granite rock. We have relocated a few things into the wooded area along the paths. Lycoris (both squamigera and radiata) have done very well. It has a short bloom period but the plants in the shaded areas come up and bloom sooner than the plants in the open garden areas. A day lily that will grow and bloom in the wooded areas is the common orange day lily AKA 'ditch lily' that is very common in our area. We have introduced some plants into our shaded door yard and garden areas such as Solomon's seal, blood root, wild ginger, meretensia, and small bulbs such as crocus and star of Bethlehem. Iris has thrived in semi shade and day lilies have done well beneath trees. Dame's rocket (hesperis matronalis) grows as a wild flower below the trees and will spread if not controlled. EP
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You should be able to grow several types of plants with rhizome type roots like Iris that should not be planted deep at all, some begonias that you can plant as a caudiciform like Begonia dregei, Begonia Partita. They can be raised so that only part of the bottom of the roots are covered and the rest of them exposed. Adenium Obesum or desert rose which is a succulent can also be planted this way. I would stick to the plants that like it drier and use a very well draining soil. I mix my succulent soils with bagged store bought succulent mix 20%, Perlite 30% and granite grit or chicken grit 50%. This type of plants don't like wet roots and store water in the leaves. If outdoor and it get rain more than once or twice a week in hot weather, I would keep them under an enclosed patio or porch. You could also grow several plant that are used as bonsai such as azaleas, begonias, ficus, ect. These plants can have the roots trimmed back and in fact make them produce shorter wider plants. There are several xeriscape plants that you can use. Try http://www.highcountrygardens.com/. They are a load of them.
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Wow, that planter is way bigger than I was picturing it, lol! It kinda dawned on me, as I was rambling on, that what I was envisioning in my mind was NOT what you had! I suppose you might try planting an evergreen in a larger pot, but I would not just place that pot on top of the soil - I would bury it in the soil for a bit extra protection. One year, I got tired of looking out my kitchen window during the winter at my large patio which is surrounded by black asphalt. Dreer-reeee!! So I tried a few evergreen plantings in pots. I had a yucca Gold(en?) Sword, a juniper (Blue Star???) and I already had a potted variegated dogwood which I dragged onto the patio. They actually looked pretty darn good all winter. Funny thing is, it was when spring came that the juniper and the yucca bit the dust. Go figure. BTW, the dogwood loses its leaves, but has beautiful red stems. My pots were quite large - but I guess not much bigger than 2 feet deep, now that I think about it. I wonder about your sun conditions though. While I've been told that it's good not to have the shrubs in full sun in the winter, I wonder if they would need the sun during the growing season. My potted shrubs above got about a half day of sun during the winter, and were in a fairly protected area. I moved the surviving dogwood to a sunnier location in the spring. Sorry, I don't know a lot about evergreens. Maybe someone else can give you some ideas. I'm a firm believer in trying something myself, which is why I went ahead with my potted evergreens when everyone else was doubtful. I've actually been thinking of trying it again, and keeping a better eye on them come spring to make sure they make the transition. Best of luck to you! :) Dee
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enchantedplace
18 years ago
I notice you state that you can't dig holes in rocks. Most of our gardens are growing or have been built over sub surface of solid rock or chunky rocks. I have had success by putting divisions of day lilies or iris on top of a clean area of ground and filling around the root divisions with soil. Also, I will take the seed stalks of plants such as cone flower or salvia and lay them in piles where I wish to start more. The seeds drop onto the earth and germinate. Have expanded our gardens in this manner. We have also thinned out the trees in the area around the residence to promote more light. Good luck. EP
ahughes798
18 years ago
Plant seeds...no digging required! That's what I do around the roots of my old maple in the back yard.

Very shallow earth, what to plant?

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karinl

enchantedplace

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